[photo_thumb]1557[/photo_thumb]… and get out of my hohlraum!
Nuclear Fusion Reactions See Net Gain in Energy
Using controlled nuclear fusion for a source of …(1) unlimited power that is pollution-free has been a dream since Einstein’s days – but many had written the process off as science fiction. Though it is still a long …(2) off , a new breakthrough has occurred where researchers actually saw a net gain in energy following a fusion reaction. The announcement comes from …(3) author Omar Hurricane from the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and was published in Nature.naturally in the …(4) of stars . As atoms from lighter elements smash into one another, the nuclei fuse to create a heavier element and energy is released. If this happens in large enough quantities, it starts a process called ignition which is a chain reaction of more atoms fusing and releasing more energy until there is a self-sustaining energy source. If this could be done in a controlled setting using a relatively small amount of water, it would represent a limitless power …(5) . Not only that, but the nominal waste that is produced in the reactions is not radioactive which gives it a clear advantage over nuclear …(6) .
A step toward nuclear fusion came within the last few months of research at NIF when their reactions actually produced more energy than it took to start it. Of course, this is still on a very small scale. The …(7) published in Nature reported results of 1.7 times more energy going out of the reaction than went into it, though the team announced they hit a net gain of 2.6 times the input energy. While this is great news, it is very important to note that the reported net gains is from the energy that actually made it into the reaction; the lasers produced …(8) more energy than what was used and calculated into the findings.
In order to run the reaction, 192 of the world’s most powerful lasers need to shoot …(9) at a 1 centimetre gold cylinder called a hohlraum, which holds a small plastic capsule. The lasers heat the hohlraum to incredibly high temperatures which causes the plastic capsule to break and the hydrogen gas inside of it to implode to 1/35 of its previous size. Co-author of the study Debbie Callahan …(10) it to compressing a basketball down the size of a pea .
Though physicists have crossed a very important threshold by obtaining a net energy of any kind, there is still considerable amount of work to be done before the …(11) goal of ignition is reached . The pulse shaping , which is how the lasers hit the plastic pellet needs to be further refined as the shape of implosion is slightly irregular, not …(12) as is desired for ignition . There is no telling how long it will take to readily achieve ignition and for power grids across the country to be hooked up to fusion reactors, though even the most optimistic …(13) still think it is many decades away.
01.) A seemingly B actually C virtually D literally
02.) A way B road C leap D line
03.) A chief B lead C head D super
04.) A centres B systems C kernels D cores
05.) A supply B source C base D resource
06.) A division B separation C disintegration D fission
07.) A document B writ C paper D file
08.) A exponentially B additionally C integrally D multiplicity
09.) A altogether B collectively C summarily D simultaneously
10.) A compared B matched C likened D collated
11.) A ultimate B final C maximum D optimal
12.) A congruent B spherical C equable D concentric
13.) A premonitions B calculations C estimates D assumptions